


Sound & Color

by thatmitchsentho



Category: Pitch Perfect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 09:45:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13948956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: Beca's working the late shift at her tattoo parlor, Sound & Color. A group of girls come in looking to get tattoos so they make bookings for other nights during the week. But Beca can't help but shake the feeling that one of the group isn't as excited as the others.





	Sound & Color

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck me this has been a long time coming. I've been really struggling with writing while I'm on all of the drugs to sort my kidney out - this last five hundred words has taken me the better part of a week. Thanks to the many, many people who suggested tattoos for the girls. You can see the chosen ink on Tumblr @thatmitchsensideblog. Also thank you to bulletproofbanjo, who talked with me about tattoos for quite a while.

Beca Mitchell sat with her feet kicked up on the front counter. It was late. Almost one a.m.

Only one in the morning was not considered late in New York City, and that went double for the fact that the front counter belonged to a tattoo parlors. Well, tattoo parlors and music store. There were still a good couple of hours ahead of her before she was done for the night.

Sound and Color Tattoo was the brainchild of Beca and her buddy Luke. They were the weird artistic kids, friends the whole way through high school. Not really trouble, but the majority of their books were covered in painstakingly drawn sketches that they’d spent many classes developing, sitting side by side in music and art classes. They’d both gotten their first tattoos on the same day - Luke on his eighteenth birthday and Beca still six months off but in possession of a top notch fake ID that had undergone a pretty solid inspection since she was so short. From that point on they were hooked. Their parents were horrified when the first tattoos were joined by many more and the ensuing fallout saw them encouraged to take their hedonism out of the family homes, so they packed their stuff and left. Everything that wasn’t vital was sunk into purchasing tattoo equipment so they could get started, and a deposit on a dingy little place for them to live.

They slaved through internships at rent-a-chair parlors, where you had to bring in enough clientele to cover your share of the overhead before you could take any profit. Near impossible for a couple of trainees. They bulked up their income by hitting the music scene - Beca was spending nights as a DJ, Luke acting as her manager, the two of them splitting everything they earned, always promising to have each other’s backs. Three years of sharing that tiny one bedroom, Luke sleeping behind a partition in the living room, stealing toilet roll and packaged peanuts from the bars and clubs they worked. They’d managed to build up some steady tattoo clients during that time, becoming known for their clean and sharp work.

Then it had happened. Luke’s grandfather died and left him a chunk of cash that his parents couldn’t touch. It was easily enough for them to move out of the one bedroom into a modest two in a better neighborhood. They were walking through the surrounding streets when Luke stopped in front of an empty shop. It wasn’t much to look at from the outside but he grabbed onto Beca’s arm.

“This is it,” he said. 

“What?” Beca said.

“Sound and Color,” he said. Beca stepped up to the glass and peered in. It had always been their dream. Tattoos and music under one roof. Excellence in both categories. They just didn’t think it’d ever happen. But now they had enough to rent the place. Fit it out. Stop working for other studios and build their own brand.

“Can’t you see it B?” he asked. “That back alcove can be where we do floor to ceiling music for people to browse. Enough space for like five or six stations, plus we can wall off a staff space. You could work from here on music stuff too.” Beca could see it. And she was excited. No more rent a chair bullshit, where the current boss mysteriously kept jacking up their overhead. 

“Call the number,” Beca said, pointing to the lease sign. “Luke, call it now.”

The agent had said he could show them through the next day. They fell in love with it instantly. They met with the bank to take out a loan for the rest and spent all their time and energy getting it up and running. Beca had asked Luke just once if he was sure about using his inheritance on a joint business venture, but he reminded her of the past few years when her DJ money was pretty much all that kept them from getting evicted and starving to death in the process. There was nobody else he wanted to go into partnership with, nobody else he trusted like he did Beca.

In two short years, Sound and Color was one of the premiere tattoo parlors in New York, if not the country. Their tattoo work was highly sought after and they had appointments booked months in advance, clients coming from all over the country to say they’d been inked there. They’d had the same crew since they opened. Luke and Beca. Cynthia Rose, or CR, who came recommended out of Atlanta. She had a steady hand and could talk music as well as either of them. Stacie was a former dancer that had landed there after circulating through a few other shops - she claimed she couldn’t find one where one of the other artists didn’t hit on her. It would have sounded conceited ninety nine times out of a hundred, but in this case Beca suspected that it was probably true, because the girl was gorgeous. Then Jack, someone Luke met through a friend who didn’t talk much but his portfolio did enough of that. Plus he also took care of their piercing clients, Stacie helping out if necessary.

Sound and Color was open seven days a week from eleven am til three am. They took bookings until eight or nine and then preferred to keep nights open for walk ins, though they wouldn’t turn down a job that requested a late booking. They were positioned in a prime location - right near a bunch of clubs and the food district favored by college grads and tourists - so they never lagged in night work. Beca liked to work nights because it kept her on the right sleep schedule for her occasional DJ gigs, and that was why she was sitting with her feet on the front counter at one in the morning on a Tuesday with Stacie. They’d just finished up a walk in, a pair of sisters visiting from Alabama who wanted matching infinity symbols on their wrists. It was a no brainer job, she did one while Stacie did the other. They were sitting side by side with a playlist of Beca’s own tracks running over the expensive in house speakers.

“I need a fucking cup of coffee,” Stacie said. She stood up and stretched her arms high over her head. The tight ringer tee lifted and showed off tight torso and the tail end of a ballerina tattoo curving down her ribs.

“Is Monroe outside?” Beca asked. Stacie stuck her head out the door. Monroe drove a coffee van and made a killing this time of night. Whenever they were on night shift together, they ended up drinking his coffee.

“Yeah,” Stacie said. “You want?”

“Please,” Beca said. Stacie headed out to get them their pick me up. She’d been gone all of forty seconds when the door opened and a group of girls came in. Beca cringed. They were loud.

Drunk, actually. Too inebriated to be tattooed in her shop tonight, that was a fact. The loudest of them was a blonde with an accent - possibly Australian? - who was adamant she wanted a massive tattoo across her back of someone named Alf Stewart.

“He’s an icon!” she kept saying to her friends. “A legend in Australian television history!”

“Can I help you ladies?” Beca asked standing up.

“We want tattoos,” one of them said. 

“Well you’re in the right place, and normally I’d say yes but first glance tells me most of you are drunk so there are legalities and ethics that would stop me from tattooing you tonight,” Beca said.

“What do you mean?” a redhead asked. She didn’t seem plastered.

“Well alcohol thins the blood,” Beca said. “If you’re wasted, you’ll bleed a lot more during the process. Lightheaded, pass out, that kind of deal. Plus it affects the post care, and it’s not worth the damage to our rep.”

“Okay but if we’re not drunk?” she said. “Just had a couple?”

“You gotta be sober for twenty-four before we ink you, sorry,” Beca said. “The law is the law.” A blonde stepped forward. She didn’t seem to be drunk, or tipsy. She looked like she had spent the night wrangling the rest of them, slightly weary and like she had a vague headache.

“So if we come back in a few days it should be okay?” she said. The redhead looked at her.

“You’re sober now,” she pointed out. “You haven’t had a drink.”

“Yes, but this is supposed to be a bonding thing,” the blonde said. Stacie walked back in holding two cups. 

“Shit, we got busy?” she asked.

“Nope,” Beca replied. “They’ve been drinking.”

“Oh what a shame,” Stacie said. “Nobody ever told you pretty ladies you can’t drink and ink?”

“They want to come back,” Beca said. “But there’s eight of them and we can’t fit eight tattoos in during the day unless you want to wait like... eight or nine weeks.”

“Eight or nine weeks?!” the Australian said. 

“Sorry dude,” Beca said. “We’re kinda in demand after that Discovery special went to air.” The blonde paused for a second.

“Well, what if we come back late at night?” she asked. “You can do like a couple at a time. We’re here for the next few days anyway.”

“Well that’ll probably work,” Stacie said. “Break it up into three nights. Do any of you guys know what you want?”

“We do,” said a pair of girls who were quietly standing toward the back. One was blonde, the other with dark hair. Both looked like they weren’t as inebriated as their Australian friend, but had maybe had a couple of drinks. Beca beckoned to them while Stacie started pulling out albums for the other girls to look at.

“I’m Beca,” she said, introducing herself.

“Jess,” the blonde said.

“Ashley,” the brunette said.

“So what are you after?” Beca asked.

“We want to get the same tattoo,” Jess said, pulling out her phone and unlocking it. She scrolled through it and showed Beca a watercolor songbird.

“That’s cute,” Beca said. “But if that’s someone else’s design I’d rather draw my own. I don’t want to rip anyone off.”

“Oh I did it,” Jess said. “It’s mine, I’m an artist. Not on skin though, just regular canvas and paper and stuff.”

“Oh cool,” Beca said. “Can you like email it to the shop? I can have stencils drawn up by the time you guys drop in tomorrow.” She grabbed a card from the rack and slid it across to her. She addressed the brunette while the blonde sent it.

“First tattoos?”

“Yes for Jess, no for me,” she said. She pulled the neckline of her shirt across so Beca could see the date inked under her collarbone.

“And where are we putting the birds?” she asked. “Just so I’m clear on sizes.”

“I want mine here,” Ashley said, gesturing to the back of her bicep. “Jess wants hers on her ankle.”

“No prob,” Beca said. She heard Stacie interject loudly.

“No way dude, I’m not agreeing to tattoo the words ‘Thunder Down Under’ and an arrow pointing to your vagina,” she was saying. “We have fucking standards here. There are plenty of insane hack tattooists who’ll do that for you but not at Sound and Color.”

“Sorry about that,” the sober blonde said. “She’s always a handful when she’s drunk. And when she’s sober. As long as she’s awake, really.”

“Hey!” Beca said to the exuberantly drunk girl. “What’s your name?”

“Fat Amy.”

“Okay Fat Amy, here’s the deal,” Beca said. “You need to relax. You aren’t getting tattooed tonight or tomorrow because quite frankly I think you’ll still have too much alcohol in your system then. But come back with an idea for a tattoo that isn’t fucking crazy and we can hook you up. You just need to kick it down a couple notches, dude, because you’re drowning out my excellent sound system. Got it?”

“Whatever you say pintsize,” Fat Amy responded, but she quieted considerable.

“So tomorrow we’ll do Jess and Ashley since they know what they want,” Beca said.

“I’ve got three others who are pretty close to deciding,” Stacie said. “So they can go next. It was you guys. Flo, Lily and Chloe. So on night three we’ll have...”

“Amy, Emily and Aubrey,” a very young looking girl said. Beca cast an eye over the young girl.

“Dude, I’m gonna need an ID check before we put anything on you,” she said. The other girls began teasing her mercilessly, save the sober blonde who was just rolling her eyes at their antics. The girl pulled out an ID and showed it to Stacie.

“Miss Emily Junk is just barely eighteen,” Stacie confirmed. “All good. Sorry, it’s the law.”

“No I get it,” Emily said. “Two months ago you would have had to turn me down.”

“Are you drunk Emily?” Beca asked in a teasing tone.

“No,” Emily said. “All I had was the one glass of champagne when we won.”

“Won?” Stacie asked innocently.

“NATIONAL CHAMPS Y’ALL!” Fat Amy yelled and the girls began to cheer.

“Quiet!” the other blonde said. Beca deducted that this must be Aubrey. “God guys. Some decorum, please.”

“What’d you win?” Beca asked, starting to fill in a slew of appointment cards. Stacie was filling in the diary.

“We’re an acapella group,” she explained. “We just won a national title.”

“Congrats,” Beca said. “So if you’re the only sober one... I’m going to give these to you. Make sure the girls are not drinking the day of their appointments, or the day after. And make sure they eat something before they come in. Not huge, but something on the stomach is a good idea especially if they’re first timers. We’ll take good care of you guys, promise.”

“Thank you,” Aubrey said. “And again... sorry. Amy is always larger than life. It can be... hectic seems like an understatement.” Beca laughed, which brought a slight tinge to the blonde’s cheeks. 

“Number’s on the front,” Beca said. “And you guys can of course drop in any time if you want to stare at the books some more, or if you find something you like online, bring it in and we’ll sketch something up.”

The blonde horded all of her friends out of the shop, leaving Stacie and Beca in relative silence again.

“Reckon they’ll come back?” Stacie asked.

“They’ll be back,” Beca said. “But ten to one odds says one of them doesn’t go through with it.”

“Oooh, place your bet,” Stacie said. 

“The blonde,” Beca said. “She was the only one sober and still didn’t get one done. You?”

“The young one, Emily,” Stacie said. “She looks too innocent.” They finished off the coffee that had almost been forgotten in the rush, and set about the rest of their night.

Beca looked up as the door opened the next night, seeing about half the group of girls that had been in the previous night. Stacie wasn’t on with her that night, it was Jack’s turn and he was doing a couple of dermal piercings on a customer. The two who were getting the tattoos looked nervous but excited so Beca brought them back. They had Emily and Aubrey with them, the two other girls wanting the luxury time to browse the albums to come up with their own ideas, which they did at the front sitting area. Beca noted that Fat Amy was not present.

“Who wants to go first?” Beca asked.

“Me,” Jess said. “I need to get it out of the way, if I watch Ash get hers then I’ll probably chicken out.” 

Beca patted the bench for her to sit down and told her to get comfortable with her leg posed so Beca could tattoo her. She squirmed a little but settled down and Beca began getting herself ready. She tied her hair in a loose knot out of her face, grabbed a cap from her station - a snapback with the shop logo on the front - and slung it backward on her head to keep the stray hair back. She had the stencil all ready and double checked everything was ready to go before she got sterile and swabbed Jessica with an alcohol wipe and applied the stencil.

“You good?” she asked her client as she opened some sterile needles. Jessica nodded, Ashley’s hand gripped tightly in hers. She started her gun and made the first mark. She heard the girl suck a breath in.

“How you doing?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” she said. “It hurts but it’s not a bad hurt?” Ashley began talking to her to distract her. The two girls that had tagged along were still flicking through pictures and as Beca looked up from time to time she could see them singing a bit to the radio.

“You have great music here,” the young one said. Emily, Beca remembered.

“Thanks,” Beca said.

“These are some great mixes,” she added.

“They’re mine,” Beca said. “I DJ a couple times a month around here.”

“So you’re a musician and a tattoo artist?” the older one asked. Aubrey. 

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Hence Sound and Color. Luke and I met in music class.  
It’s what we do. If you want you can go check out the music stuff, up on those shelves.” She nodded toward the back alcove and Emily got up straight away to have a look.

“So you guys sing?” Beca said to the two at her station. “Are you thinking about music careers?”

“No,” Jessica said. “I’m working in graphic design.”

“And I’ll have a degree in finance, I’m probably going into accounting,” Ashley said. “I know it seems boring but I like the math and practicality of it.”

“No it’s fair,” Beca said. “But don’t call yourself boring dude. People who like practicality balance out the ones like me who are the complete opposite. You need both kinds of people.”

She kept steadily progressing through Jessica’s tattoo. The blonde did a pretty good job reigning in her discomfort, and Ashley distracted her by talking to her and telling jokes. She finished it up and cleaned it, Jess proclaiming that she loved it before Beca ran through the care instructions.

“Give me a tick to change a few things over and re-sterilize,” Beca said to Ashley. They chatted to their friends while they waited for Beca to call Ashley back over. From the sound of the conversation Emily had decided on a tattoo now. 

“Okay Ashley,” Beca said. “Let’s do it.” Ashley sat like a pro for hers, even at the fleshy part of the arm which sometimes got to be too much for some people. It took longer than Jessica’s because it was bigger, and Emily came over to watch for a moment.

“You worried about the tattoo?” Beca asked.

“A little,” Emily admitted. “How many tattoos do you have?”

“Um… so there’s the sleeve,” Beca said. “I don’t remember how many sittings that was. But nine others, most of them not really visible unless I’m wearing a lot less. I was seventeen when I got my first.”

“Seventeen?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah, I had this fake ID,” Beca said. “Dude looked at it for a long time, too. But he tattooed me, and I fell in love with it.” She finished up with Ashley and set her up for her aftercare.

“So how did you go, Aubrey?” Beca asked as they paid the transaction. “Did you pick something too?”

“Not yet,” she said. Beca got the impression she wasn’t sold on the tattoo idea. “I’ll come back with the girls tomorrow and look some more.” 

“Alright girls,” Beca said. “Take good care of those tattoos.” They thanked her profusely and headed out, Aubrey holding the door for them. Beca watched them go and then settled in next to Jack, who had long finished with his dermals.

“What’s the deal there?” he asked.

“Eight clients, want to get tattoos as a souvenir while they’re here,” Beca said. “Spreading them over three nights.”

“The blonde is getting a tattoo?” Jack said. “Doesn’t seem the type.”

“I’m not sure she’s up for it,” Beca admitted. “But you know me, I won’t do it if she’s not sure.” Jack nodded and they lapsed back into silence. They each did a couple of smaller jobs, Beca pulling out her laptop to work on some music in between. 

The next of the girls came in the following night, ready to get their tattoos done. Chloe, Flo and Lily. Chloe and Flo both wanted flower related tattoos - Chloe a pair of poppies on her ribs and Flo a trio of roses on her shoulder to represent herself, her mother and her grandmother. Stacie was on with Beca again, and rather than do the flowers, she opted to fulfill Lily’s request of the phases of the moon down her spine.

“You do know that’s going to hurt like a bitch, though,” Stacie said. They heard a barely audible mumble about not feeling pain, so Stacie shrugged and led her back. They were all in again tonight, trying to help Amy and Aubrey decided on their tattoos. 

Beca chatted with the two girls she was tattooing as she worked. Once Flo had finished up, she hung around to keep Chloe company through hers. It was definitely painful for the redhead, but she was insistent that it was still happening. Amy was clearly holding court over by the albums, everyone having a great time if the laughter was any indication.

“Your friend Amy seems to instill a good time,” Beca said. They were taking a quick breather, Chloe requesting some water. Flo was holding a bottle with a straw out to her as she lay reclined on the table.

“Amy?” Chloe said. “Amy is a great time. She’s hilarious. It’s hard to have a bad time if she’s around. And yeah, if she’s drinking she can really turn it on. But she’s great. One of a kind. Always making us laugh.”

“So maybe she should get a tattoo that represents that,” Beca said.

“She wants something super Australian,” Flo said. “Oh! Chloe, she needs the bird. The laughing bird.”

“A kookaburra,” Chloe said. “It’s perfect. Ames!” 

The woman looked over. “Yep?”

“You should get a kookaburra!” 

“Amy?” Stacie said as she continued tattooing the second to last moon on Lily. “There’s a red album and it’s somewhere near the back but it’s a greyscale tattoo I did of a cat for a client. In a circle thing. What about one of those and I’ll just redraw the cat as a kookaburra?” The girls were all poring over the book, trying to find the right image. 

“There it is!” Ashley said. “What do you think, Amy?” The boisterous blonde looked at it carefully for a moment. 

“I think Fat Amy is getting a tattoo tomorrow!” she said. The girls cheered.

“Awesome,” Stacie said. “How big?”

“I want it same place pintsize is putting Flo’s, but bigger,” Amy said. “Always bigger.”

“Well once I’m done with Lily I’ll have you come over and we can talk it through, I’ll have it drawn up for you tomorrow,” Stacie said. 

“Just leaves Aubrey,” Chloe said to Flo. “Okay, let’s keep going.” Beca spoke to Flo now since she wanted Chloe to remain as still as possible.

“Aubrey’s the mom friend, isn’t she?” Beca said. “Makes sure you’re all where you need to be, that sort of thing.”

“Well, she’s captain,” Flo said. “Chloe is too, but Aubrey is definitely the mom friend. She worries about us, looks after us.” Beca looked up at the blonde in question as she shifted a little.

“But you’re all tight?”

“Chloe and Aubrey have been best friends for years,” Flo said. “But we’re family. It’s a sisterhood. Surely you have friends like that.”

“Luke,” Beca nodded. “He’s my brother. We’ve been through everything together.” They heard Stacie finishing up with Lily, the busty tattooist coming over to where they were still progressing on Chloe.

“So Lily literally acted like I hadn’t even touched her,” Stacie said. “That’s really fucking rare for a spinal tattoo, double for a first timer. What’s her deal?”

“With Lily it’s best not to ask,” Chloe said from her spot on the bed. “Just… accept it.” Beca noticed Flo making the sign of the cross and bit back a laugh. It wasn’t too much longer before they were finishing up Chloe’s tattoo and getting them set with their aftercare. Stacie got Amy to demonstrate how big she wanted her tattoo and the location and then inspected the pair of birds Beca had done the previous day.

“Healing pretty good so far,” she commented. “So is everyone set for tomorrow?”

“No,” Aubrey said. “I’m hoping the pressure of it being my turn might force me to choose. There are a few in there I like.” Beca felt like that wasn’t entirely true.

“Okay then, we’ll see you ladies tomorrow,” Beca said. “Chloe, try and eat something, some fruit if you can.” The redhead had said she was a little lightheaded but was okay to walk so long as she was with the girls. The group bundled out and the two artists cleaned up their stations. 

“So the bet,” Beca said. “Your candidate has at least picked a tattoo now. Mine still hasn’t committed.”

“Yeah I think the odds are in your favor here,” Stacie said. “Oh, by the way, I think I want some more ink done if you can swing it on a night shift.” They often tattooed each other, Beca and Stacie. Beca even went so far as to let their two apprentices try out the guns on her. Her argument was that she could always have it covered and it helped to learn. 

“Yeah what are you planning?” Beca said. 

“A snake,” Stacie said, flipping through a sketchbook. “Right here.” She pointed between her breasts. She found the page. 

“That’ll look sweet,” Beca said. “Sure, I can take care of that.” Stacie went outside to get some coffee from Monroe in his van - maybe also to flirt a little - and brought a cup back in for Beca. They each pulled out some paper to draw up designs for the following night. Stacie got straight into the kookaburra tattoo, and Beca doodled a bunch of different designs for Emily. The younger girl had chosen a pink and black crown, only she wanted two. One for her and one for her mom, so she wanted them to be a matching set but not identical.

The next night all the girls were back again. Stacie was finishing up on a quick Superman tattoo for a guy at her table and Beca brought the designs she’d done of the crowns to Emily so she could pick one.

“They’re all really good,” Emily said. “But I think these two. They work for Mom and I.”

“And where do you want them?” Beca asked. Emily pointed to the inside of her forearm. “Come on back. Everyone else, you have to help Aubrey pick a tattoo.”

“Won’t be long before we can do you, Amy,” Stacie called. Chloe followed Emily back; clearly she was playing the role of hand-holder for the nervous eighteen year old. Beca took the time to explain every step of her procedure to calm her nerves, and it seemed to work. Until she got to the actual tattooing. 

It started okay, she fidgeted a little but not the worst Beca had ever dealt with, not by a long shot. But she wasn’t breathing properly, she was holding her breath for long stretches at a time, and then gasping in air, which Beca knew was going to end up with her face first on the floor. She pulled away.

“Hey, kiddo, you’re doing great,” Beca said. “But you gotta breathe, man. Don’t hold it in. You’re a singer, right?” Emily nodded.

“Yeah,” she said. She was looking a little pale.

“So you know that it’s important not to hold your breath too long,” Beca said. “How about we get you some juice and then we can keep going?”

“Yeah okay,” Emily said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Beca said. “You’re doing fine.” She looked up and saw that Stacie was bringing Amy back to begin her tattoo.

“Hey Stace can you grab a juice from the fridge?” Beca asked. “Save me having to get sterile again.” Stacie grabbed one of the little bottles and Emily sipped from it for a minute or two.

“How are you feeling?” Beca asked. 

“Better,” Emily said. “I’ll breathe, I promise.” 

“If it hurts too much I’ll stop,” Beca said. “I’ll finish off this first crown and check in before we do the little one, okay?” Emily nodded and set the half empty juice down. She clutched Chloe’s hand and Beca resumed what she was doing. Chloe occasionally had to remind her to breathe a couple of times, but she made it through the first crown easily.

“Just keep going,” Emily said. “While I’m in the zone.” She blew out a breath and focused on keeping her breathing even while Beca inked the smaller crown right under the larger one. 

“Okay Emily, we are looking good,” Beca said. “All done.” She cleaned it off and the handful of Bellas milling around came over to have a look at the two pink and black crowns.

“It looks awesome,” Emily said. “It’s perfect.”

“Your mom will get a kick out of it,” Chloe said.

“Right, now it’s Aubrey’s turn,” Beca said. The blonde had been waiting patiently, and she got up and quietly made her way over to Beca with, who was changing things over to start fresh and sterile. 

“You ready?” Beca asked. She couldn’t help but notice the blonde’s lackluster response.

“Sure,” she said with a shrug. “I took some photos of the ones I like on my phone.”

“Call me crazy,” Beca said to the blonde, “but you don’t seem to be super into the tattoo thing.” She sat down and Aubrey sat primly on the customer table. 

“I guess,” Aubrey said quietly with another shrug. She looked over at Stacie, who was still working on Amy, while Emily had rejoined their friends. “I uh... the girls don’t know this, but I already have a tattoo and I really hate it.” Beca raised an eyebrow.

“Let me see it,” she said. 

“I’d prefer if they didn’t see,” Aubrey said. Beca yanked her privacy curtain around her station and Aubrey reluctantly tugged her jeans down a little, then slid the waistband of her underwear down so she could see. It was on her lower abdomen, so low that it would only be seen if she were naked.

“Yeah I can see why you hate that,” Beca said. “Let me guess, rebelling against the family?” The blonde nodded.

“It was freshman year,” Aubrey admitted. “My family is super strict and traditional and I had it in my head that I was an adult now and should do what I wanted. Found a tattoo parlor back home who had no issues tattooing a drunk eighteen year old and I have this as a permanent reminder.” It was a pretty badly done trio of hearts. The spacing was kind of uneven and the lines had spread.

“That’s a fucking atrocious tattoo,” Beca said. “I hope that didn’t cost you too much.”

“Enough that I regret it every time I look at it,” Aubrey said. “Plus it also cost my dignity and my ability to wear low cut bathing suits.”

“Want me to cover it up?” Beca asked. 

“Cover it up?” Aubrey asked.

“Put another tattoo over the top,” Beca said. “It’s not real big and I could put something decent on it, something you actually like.”

“I just don’t know what,” Aubrey said. “I mean I do hate this one but I don’t want to get something that I’m going to look back and hate equally as much. And the ones in the book were fine, but it needs to be better than fine, you know?”

“So talk to me,” Beca said. “Tell me what you like, what means the most to you in all the world. I’ll draw something up, no pressure.”

Beca sat back as the girl started talking. She talked about her family a little, but mostly she talked about her friends. It wasn’t until she talked about the Bellas that Beca grabbed a pencil to start drawing. Aubrey kept talking as Beca sketched. The blonde was animated and happy so long as she was talking about the girls and talking about singing. She switched to pens to color the image for Aubrey, who was finishing up by saying that they weren’t just friends, they were her sisters and that they were sure they always would be, even if life separated them. Beca smiled at her but kept the sketch hidden.

“So I’m gonna give you this sketch,” Beca said. “But I’m not going to tattoo you tonight, Aubrey.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re not sure,” Beca said. “So I want you to take it with you and if you ever decide that you do want it, bring it back and I’ll do it. But I should point out, I’ll be pissed if you get it done somewhere else.”

“Oh I would never do that. What’ll I tell the girls though?” Aubrey asked.

“Simple,” Beca said. “I’ll be the bitch. Tell them I wouldn’t do it because you couldn’t commit. It’s kinda true. I don’t like tattooing people who aren’t sure about what they want. I’m just about done here. You ready?” Aubrey kind of was ready. It was weird, everyone expected her to be getting a tattoo right now but she’d been talking to the extremely cute tattoo artist for almost an hour. 

Wait, cute?

Definitely cute, Aubrey decided as Beca put a few more finishing touches on the drawing. The sleeve of tattoos suited her, all music and dark lines. She was still wearing the backward cap she’d tossed on to keep the hair out of her face, too. It suited her and she could see her face better. Fairly serious looking dark blue eyes, heavily lined. She had a habit of pushing her tongue just slightly through her lips as she drew. So yes, cute.

“Here,” Beca said. She slid the sheet of paper to where Aubrey could see it.

“Wow,” Aubrey said. “How did you even- it’s amazing! You don’t even know me.” It was a pitch pipe, sitting on the Bellas scarf. It had a B etched into it with a laurel wreath surrounding the letter.

“It ain’t hard,” Beca said. “You talked about the girls, the Bellas. How important it was for you to succeed at this because it was the first thing you really wanted for yourself and not to make your family happy.”

“Oh my god even the print on the Bellas scarf is perfect,” she said. 

“Sweet I hoped I was right,” Beca breathed. “At least two or three of you girls have worn that yellow scarf thing every day.”

“And the pitch pipe?” Aubrey asked. 

“Your friends said you were captain,” Beca said. “Back in my day the captain had control of the pitch pipe.”

“Your day?” Aubrey said with surprise. Beca held up her finger to her lips in a ‘quiet’ gesture.

“High school,” Beca said. “Like a million years ago. Tell Stacie and I deny it.”

“Well I love this,” Aubrey said. “And I know you said you wouldn’t put it on me tonight, but I’ll be back in a month to get it. I’m moving here after I graduate, I have a job lined up.”

“Oh yeah?” Beca asked. “Doing what?”

“Civil planning,” Aubrey said. “I just finished my masters.” Beca thought for second. That meant Aubrey was like, twenty-three or twenty-four, not the twenty-one she’d originally thought. Which worked for her, because the blonde was seriously pretty. And moving to New York.

“That’s cool,” Beca said. “Where are you going to be staying?”

“Gramercy Park,” Aubrey said. “My family and I aren’t close but they’re still loaded.” Another stroke of luck.

“Hey, that’s totally not far from here,” Beca said. “If you need a buddy to, like, point out the good food places and decent coffee in the area, drop in sometime.”

“Seriously?” Aubrey said.

“Yeah man, I grew up here in the city I can give you the insider knowledge on anything,” Beca said.

“Awesome,” Aubrey said. She felt a thud in her chest as Beca smiled at her.

“Now put that in your purse and play along,” Beca said with a wink. She tugged the curtain back.

“Sorry,” Beca said, “I just can’t do it.”

“What do you mean?” Aubrey asked.

“I’m not willing to tattoo you if you’re not a hundred percent happy with it,” Beca said. “And you saying ‘I guess that one is okay’ just isn’t convincing enough.”

“Bree didn’t get her tattoo?” Emily asked.

“I won’t do it,” Beca said. “She eventually picked one but l... It’s an integrity thing, guys. I know you want it to be a bonding experience and all. But at the end of the day this is my business and we’re one of the leading tattoo parlors in the country. I’m not going to start tanking my rep by tattooing people who aren’t sure about it.”

“No, it’s okay,” Aubrey said. “I understand. Thank you for your time though. I can appreciate that you have standards you want to maintain.”

“I mean, if you’re ever in town and have a moment of clarity, by all means come on in,” Beca said. “I just don’t want you to wake up in the morning and hate something I’ve put on your body.” The girls seemed to understand and they all waited for Stacie to finish up on Amy’s shoulder before settling up the bill.

“Okay ladies,” Stacie said. “Safe travels home, don’t forget your aftercare, and make sure you tag the shop on Instagram!” They all thanked Beca and Stacie loudly and bundled out the door. Aubrey held it open for the rest of them, looking back to shoot a smile at Beca before she headed out.

“And what was that little smile about?” her colleague said. “Don’t think I didn’t see it.”

“Nothing,” Beca said. “It’s called being polite to customers.”

“Oh fuck off,” Stacie said. “I’d maybe believe that if you had smiled at anyone else ever. You think she’s cute.”

“Yeah she is,” Beca said. “But that doesn’t mean shit.”

“That blonde totally digs you,” Stacie said. “What was her deal, anyway?”

“What do you mean?” Beca asked.

“You guys were in there for an hour,” Stacie said. “Normally if someone can’t commit you kick their ass out in like ten minutes.”

“We were talking,” Beca said. “She didn’t want the others to know that she has a really shit tattoo on her lower abdomen. I offered to cover it but she wasn’t sure what she wanted.”

“Oh, how bad?” Stacie said.

“Looks like they let an apprentice do it unsupervised,” Beca said. “Couple of linked hearts. So I told her to start talking about shit she actually likes and I’d start drawing.”

“So you even drew it up and still didn’t put it on her?” Stacie asked. She moved over to the side of the studio and tugged out a yoga mat. She always liked to stretch after doing a decent sized tattoo, being all hunched over wasn’t good for her body, apparently.

“Nope,” Beca said. “But she’s gonna come back and get it in like a month. She’s moving to Gramercy.”

“Oh my god,” Stacie said, stopping mid stretch. “Did you at least get her number? Because she was hot and crushing on you.”

“No Stacie, I didn’t get her number,” Beca said. Stacie began moaning about Beca being chicken and destined to be alone if she didn’t get up the balls to make a move on someone. Beca just left her stretching on the floor and went to sit at the counter.

Aubrey and the rest of the girls headed back to the apartment they’d been sharing, most of them heading for bed right away. Aubrey was alone in the room she was sharing with Chloe, who was in the bathroom taking a shower. She quietly pulled the drawing Beca had done for her out and looked at it again. Then she noticed something written on the back. Beca had left her phone number on it with the words ‘Look me up in a month. You know where to find me.’

Five weeks later Beca was working on her first client of the day, one of her regulars, when she heard the door open. Their apprentice was at the counter and she greeted the incoming customer.

“Welcome to Sound and Color Tattoo,” she said cheerily. “What are you looking for?”

“I’d like to book in for a tattoo,” a familiar voice said. Beca lifted her gun and blotted where she’d just tattooed. She swiveled her chair so she could make sure she wasn’t imagining it. But she wasn’t. It was Aubrey. They locked eyes and smiled at each other.

“Dave, you good for a second?” Beca said. The man said he was fine.

“And have you been here before?” Valerie asked. “Or are you new to us?”

“Hey Val, I’ll take this one,” Beca said. “You’re back. Settled in okay?”

“Yeah, I finished unpacking yesterday,” Aubrey said. She pulled the sketch out. “I wanted to take care of unfinished business.”

“When did you want to come and get it done?” Beca asked.

“I’m not due at work for two weeks,” Aubrey said. “Any time.” Beca hit the iPad and brought up her schedule.

“If you wanna come back during the day, it’ll be a couple days from now,” she said. “Or you could come back tonight after eight, and I’ll do you then.” Aubrey blushed a little at the choice of words. 

“I’ll be back at eight thirty then,” Aubrey confirmed. “And uh... don’t make dinner plans.” Beca raised an eyebrow and it only made Aubrey blush harder.

“No peanuts,” Beca said with the hint of a grin.

“What?” Aubrey said. 

“I’m allergic to peanuts,” Beca said. “I’ll see you tonight.” Aubrey gave an awkward kind of wave and headed out. Stacie came through the door immediately looking for Beca.

“Tell me I just saw that blonde acapella chick,” Stacie said.

“You did,” Beca said, settling back into her chair to continue on Dave’s calf.

“And?” Stacie said impatiently.

“I’m going to tattoo her tonight,” Beca said.

“Boo,” Stacie said. She wasn’t on night shift tonight; CR was taking the second open chair. Stacie got up and went back to her station to set up for her last appointment. 

It hit eight o’clock and they’d farwelled the last appointment for the day, waiting for the walk ins that always showed up. CR was a good night shift partner, she picked great music and occasionally sang along, which Beca didn’t mind one bit. She had a hell of a voice, and Beca liked to listen to it.

Just before eight thirty the door opened and Beca looked up, smiling when she saw Aubrey coming in with a sack full of food. 

“Hey,” Beca said, gesturing for her to come back.

“Hey,” Aubrey said. “I brought an extra order of pasta in case your colleague hasn’t eaten.”

“That’s sweet,” Beca said. “Hey CR, have you got food or you want in on this pasta?”

“No thanks,” she said. “My girl sent me with a home cooked meal. Take your time, I got it covered.”

“I’m just gonna eat and then I’m tattooing her,” Beca said. “Aubrey, CR. CR, Aubrey.” 

“Do your thing,” CR said. Beca took her back to the staff area and they ate there. 

“Do you want to keep this?” Aubrey asked, pointing to the extra container of alfredo. “Eat it tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Beca said. “Thanks. I’m glad you came back.”

“I was always coming back,” Aubrey said. “I feel bad not texting at any point in the last month but I didn’t really know what to say.”

“No that’s okay,” Beca said.

“I mean there was a lot I wanted to say,” Aubrey clarified. “I’m just not good at this. But I made a promise so here I am.”

They ate their dinner, Aubrey hearing the story of how Sound and Color came about and some of the interesting client stories. In return Beca heard tales of the Barden Bellas, normally featuring Amy doing something crazy to cause them some kind of grief. But the pasta was soon gone and it was time for business.

“You ready to cover up the hearts?” Beca asked.

“Very ready,” Aubrey said. They dumped their trash and headed out to the studio so they could begin. 

“I’m pulling this,” Beca said to CR, holding her curtain. “Lower abdo.” CR just nodded, tapping at her phone.

“No problem.”

“So what’s the protocol?” Aubrey asked. “I’m assuming the shorts have to come off?”

“It’s generally the easiest,” Beca said. She was doing up the stencil trying not to look. She swallowed hard as Aubrey stepped out of her gym shorts. She’d tattooed any number of hot girls before. Hell, she had tattooed a snake between Stacie’s breasts only two weeks ago. But she’d never tattooed someone she was this heavily attracted to before, let alone right above her god damned panty line. It didn’t help that Aubrey was tanned and her skin looked fucking amazing and soft either. The blonde was just sitting on the edge of the table and waiting for Beca to finish up the preparation process.

“Okay,” Beca said. She tied her hair back in a loose knot at the base of her neck, grabbed the cap off of her desk and put it on to keep it all out of her face. Then she spent a couple minutes thoroughly washing her hands at the tiny basin before putting her gloves on, and settled into the stool. Aubrey watched with fascination as she mixed some dyes, got it all ready on a little wheelie table and scooted it over to where she was laying. 

“Is this enough space, or do you need me to pull down a little?” Aubrey asked, laying back.

“Should be okay,” Beca said. She cleaned the skin and applied the stencil, covering her old tattoo. Aubrey’s underwear was a fine lacy set, navy blue. They looked soft and expensive and Beca wanted to take them off. But that was something that really wasn’t going to happen right now. Maybe if she was lucky, some other time.

“Happy with that?” she asked instead. Aubrey peered down.

“Yep,” she said. Beca started her gun up.

“Deep breath before we start,” Beca said. “Tell me if you need me to stop.”

“I’ll be fine,” Aubrey said. “I have a really high pain tolerance.”

“Really?” Beca asked.

“I broke three bones in my foot summer after senior year of undergrad,” Aubrey said. “Wore pumps at my internship for four days before I thought about seeing a doctor. Had to wear one of those moon boots the rest of the summer.”

“Damn,” Beca said. “Okay, here I go.” She started the first line. Aubrey sucked in an initial gasp, but after that she was fine. Didn’t move too much during the whole thing, which was damn impressive for an abdomen tattoo. She noticed that Aubrey was humming along to the radio, sometimes singing, and she had a nice voice. It was probably a good distraction, but it at least meant she was breathing naturally and wouldn’t pass out on her table.

Beca was shading under the Bellas scarf when she realised that she needed to move Aubrey’s underwear out of the way. She didn’t want Aubrey to move, but she also didn’t want to just start grabbing at the girls underwear. Well, she did, but not in this context.

“Aubrey, I need to move your... just a little,” Beca said.

“Go ahead,” Aubrey said. Beca let a fingertip guide the underwear down a tiny bit, seeing goosebumps on Aubrey’s skin as she did. 

Christ this was hard.

But she bit down on the inside of her cheek to help her concentrate and finished it up. She wiped it all down and told her she could sit up and take a look. 

Aubrey was so glad she was done now. It didn’t hurt or anything but having Beca so close to certain areas of her body was killing her. Her hands were gentle and she could occasionally feel the girl’s soft breath against her skin. It was getting her a little worked up and she was beyond embarrassed worrying that Beca could somehow tell. She sat up and angled so she could see it better in the mirror.

“It’s perfect,” Aubrey said. “I love it, Beca.”

“You’re a good canvas,” Beca said. “Stayed still as a rock.” She applied some antibacterial cream and covered it up for her, telling her she could put her shorts back on.

“Try to set them above or below the tatt,” Beca said. “Waistbands rub against them a bit, it can affect the healing.” Aubrey slung them low as she pulled them up and was right in Beca’s face now.

Beca swallowed hard. She could vaguely hear Cynthia Rose bringing back a walk in customer but Aubrey was standing way too close for anything to actually sink in to her brain. She smelled really good.

“I’m gonna need you to pay for that tattoo like, right now,” she said, eyes dropping to Aubrey’s lips.

“Why the hurry?” Aubrey asked.

“Because I want to kiss you pretty badly but I can’t do that until we’re settled,” Beca said. “Bit of a personal no-no.”

Aubrey immediately tugged a credit card out of her pocket and Beca went and ran the transaction. She waited a second as a couple slowed in front of the shop, silently begging them not to come in. They kept walking and Beca returned the card to Aubrey with her receipt and aftercare pack. Aubrey set it down and pulled Beca’s face toward hers with both hands. 

She kept it slow. Torturously slow, almost. But their lips were definitely pressed together and moving against each other. Beca could feel Aubrey’s breath hot against mouth as they kissed. She stepped in closer and let her hands move to Aubrey’s lower back, spreading across soft skin. She was rewarded with Aubrey’s tongue entering her mouth, and Beca let out a sound that wasn’t really a gasp or a moan but it was impossibly needy. They let the kiss deepen for a while longer, tongues sliding against each other firmly, and Beca could swear her body was on fire right now.

“Damn,” Beca said when they pulled apart.

“You have to be here til three, don’t you?” Aubrey asked, not letting her step back.

“Yeah, can’t leave one person in the shop,” Beca said. “It’s a safety thing. But it’s my weekend now, so if you want, call me tomorrow?”

“I’ll wait til about lunch time so you can get some sleep,” Aubrey promised. “But I’ll go now. If I stay you’re not getting anything done.” Beca kissed her again, wasting a few seconds getting lost in the taste of her.

“Call me tomorrow,” she said eventually, and she walked Aubrey to the door. She went back to her station to begin cleaning up, pulling her curtain back only to see CR and Stacie waiting with amused expressions on their faces.

“Seriously?” Beca said. “I thought you were with a customer.”

“Nah, Stace told me all about Blondie there when I got in,” CR said. “Said she was very interested as to whether you two would be hooking up.”

“And she’s been keeping me updated all night,” Stacie said. “Which brings us to you finally getting some!”

“I kissed her Stacie, I didn’t fuck her,” Beca said, rolling her eyes and starting the clean up.

“How hard was it to tattoo her though?” CR said.

“So fucking hard,” Beca groaned. “I was like right in her fucking crotch! And she’s an unbelievable level of hot. But she’s gonna call me tomorrow.”

“Yeah she is,” Stacie said. She high fived Beca. 

“Actually, you’re here now,” Beca said to Stacie. “Since you seem to have nothing better to do, I’m leaving.”

“Seriously!?” Stacie said.

“This is what you wanted,” Beca pointed out. “If I hurry, I can still catch her.”

“Go,” Stacie said dismissively. “But you owe me.” Beca grinned and grabbed her bag from her station and scanned the street for Aubrey. She spotted her way up ahead so she pulled her cellphone out.

“Beca?” Aubrey asked.

“I’m behind you,” Beca said.

“What?”

“Turns out that CR didn’t have a customer it was just Stacie there to give me a hard time,” Beca said. She could see that Aubrey had stopped walking. “So she’s staying and I’m hoping you have nothing better to do than let me crash your night.” She reached the blonde and hung up her phone.

“You still have your hat on,” Aubrey said. 

“Oh,” Beca said, reaching a hand up to touch the brim of the cap behind her head. “I just like to keep the hair out of my face.” She made to remove it but Aubrey moved her hand away.

“I like the hat,” she said. “It suits you.” Beca wrinkled her nose but leaned up and kissed her again. As much as Aubrey loved the hat, she wanted to touch Beca’s hair. She didn’t break the kiss but tugged the cap off and settled it on her own head so her hands could tangle in the soft brown tresses, gently untying the knot as she did so. Beca’s hands cradled her waist softly and they only separated when the occupants of a passing car wolf whistled at them.

“Looks good on you too,” Beca said. She flipped the hat around the right way and tucked Aubrey’s hair behind her ears. “I think you should keep this one. I’ve got like a million back at the shop.”

“Come on,” Aubrey said. “There’s a subway stop not too far from my place. You told Emily you had nine tattoos and most of them weren’t visible. I kind of want to see them.” Beca grinned and took her hand.


End file.
